


The Fox's Redemption

by CodeOne, Erinnyes



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-19 19:56:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15517428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodeOne/pseuds/CodeOne, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erinnyes/pseuds/Erinnyes
Summary: Judy Hopps, Jedi Knight, has been assigned a mission- capture or kill the Sith known as Darth Ferox, once called Nick Wilde. Instead, she rescues him from the Dark Side. But can she rescue him from the distrust of not only the Jedi, but his distrust of himself? The two find themselves in a battle not only for the Republic, but for their very souls.





	1. Prologue- Fear Itself

**Author's Note:**

> CodeOne: Howdy, all. This is what's known as a Fusion Fic, where two stories are merged into one. In this case, Star Wars with Zootopian mammals replacing the main characters. Various characters from the Zootopian movie will show up, as well- Bogo as a Jedi Master, for example. The story takes place parallel to the events of the prequels- in other words, Judy and Nick have their own storyline not directly connected to the main one. There will be occasional cameos by the main Star Wars cast, however.
> 
> Many thanks to Erinnyes for co-authoring this fic with me- I greatly enjoy his writing and hope to learn a lot from him.
> 
> For those who have read the prologue posted in my other work on this site- it has changed a bit, so make sure you re-read it. Otherwise, I and Erinnyes will be shooting for one or two chapters a week as far as scheduling. Should have the next chapter out tomorrow. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

The two guards stepped in front of the cowled figures that approached the Jedi Temple. They were relaxed but alert- Jedi frequently approached with their faces covered, to avoid giving away their movements. "Halt!" ordered one. "Identify yourself, please."  
The leading figure, much shorter than the one that followed her, lowered her hood. Two long ears sprang up, revealing her as a rabbit "Jedi Knight Judith Hopps," she said.  
The guards nodded at her. "Greetings, Jedi. Welcome back to the Temple."  
Hopps inclined her head in return. "It is good to be back." She gestured to the figure behind her- much taller, though still shorter than the two wolf guards at the door. That figure, head bowed beneath an enveloping hood, started to move forward.  
The guards didn't move. "Your pardon, Jedi Knight," said the first wolf apologetically. "But we must identify your companion as well."  
The bunny Jedi's expression did not change, but both guards noted a certain tension in the air. They both tightened their grips imperceptibly on their blaster rifles, though the gesture was unconscious. Her lips compressed into a thin line, Hopps turned to the figure who had followed her.  
"Lower your hood," she said, her tone gentle.  
The other hooded figure hesitated, and though its face could not be seen, both guards saw how it cocked its head questioningly at the Knight.  
"You're here with me," said Hopps, her voice still soft. "It's all right."  
Slowly, the figure raised its arms, the sleeves of the robe slipping back to reveal red-furred, clawed paws. With one final pause, the hood was thrown back, revealing startlingly green eyes in a fox's face. The fox stared at the two guards defiantly  
Both guards snapped their blaster rifles up at the fox. "Get on the ground!" shouted one of the wolves.  
There was the snap-hiss of an igniting lightsaber, and both guards instinctively fired.  
The blaster bolts struck the ground to either side of the fox, who still held his paws out to his side.  
Between the guards and the fox, Hopps stood, her lightsaber still raised in the position it had been in when she deflected the two bolts- held in both paws, slightly above her head, slanted almost horizontally. The glow of the lightsaber reflected strangely in the fox's eyes.  
"Stand down," said Hopps, her face calm but her voice icy.  
The two guards exchanged looks, stunned. "But-"  
"He is with me," said Hopps. "Do you think I would bring him here, unrestrained, if I wasn't taking responsibility for him?"  
Slowly, the guards lowered their blasters. "Are you sure, Jedi?"  
"Sure she must be, to bring this fox here she has," said a voice. Hopps, the fox, and the two wolves turned to look into the Temple, the guards snapping to attention.  
A wizened figure slowly made his way towards the door. Hopps immediately bowed her head. "Master Yoda."  
The ancient Jedi Master waved away her obeisance. "Returned you have, I see, hm. And with your quarry." The Jedi Master eyed the fox keenly, who met his gaze calmly. "Much anger in this one I feel."  
"Master-"  
Yoda held up a paw, looking over the fox carefully. "What is your name, young one?"  
The fox hesitated, looking toward Hopps. She nodded reassuringly.  
The fox looked down at Yoda. "You know my name. Nicholas Wilde."  
"This name chosen for you was." The Jedi Master's voice suddenly became very hard, in stark contrast to the avuncular tone of before. "What is the name you chose for yourself?"  
There was a long silence. The two guards spread out slightly, paws gripping their blaster rifles, faces set in determination. They had to know that if a fight broke out between the three Force users, they would barely be a speed bump. But they were ready, especially as they saw the spasm of anger cross the fox's face.  
Finally, the fox spoke. "Darth Ferox."  
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wilde stood silently under the gaze of the Jedi Council. He met their eyes squarely, almost defiantly, his jaw set. Only his ears, which kept laying back against his head, betrayed his nervousness.  
His ears, and the Force. "I sense a great deal of fear in him," said Master Bogo, his eyes boring into Wilde. "Fear leads to anger.:  
"Anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering," finished Hopps. Her eyes flashed as she looked at the buffalo. "He knows, Master." She recollected herself, visibly schooling herself to calm. "He knows better than anyone."  
"That's one way to describe falling to the Dark Side," said Bogo dryly. "Yes, Hopps, I suppose he does know. Which is exactly why punishment must be meted out to him."  
"He can be redeemed," insisted Hopps. "He has already taken the first path on that road. He saved my life, when all he had to do was let me fall."  
"We read your report," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. The rhino grunted. "And your recommendations for Ferox's rehabilitation."  
"His name is Wilde," said Hopps, turning to face the Jedi Master. "He's rejected that name."  
"Has he?" mused the Master. "Is that not for us to decide, young Jedi?"  
Hopps hesitated, before dipping her head in submission. "Yes, Master."  
The Council exchanged glances. "We will soon have a discussion, Hopps, regarding your tendency toward defiance. You are young, yet. Your thoughts are noted, but do not be too headstrong. That way leads to the Dark Side."  
"I am afraid."  
It was Wilde who had spoken, and the Council's scrutiny shifted to him. "Yes," said Yoda quietly. "You are."  
"But it is not a fear of what will be done to me," said Wilde, his voice shaking slightly. "I'm afraid of what I've done. Of what I am." He straightened, his voice firming. "I stand ready to accept the judgment of the Council."  
"The Sith are masters of manipulation," sadi Bogo. "Crafters of lies. They use words like daggers." He watched Wilde keenly, but there was no reaction to his words. He studied the rest of the Council, until his eyes fell on one in particular. "Master Yoda?"  
Yoda stood slowly. "Runs deep, does the corruption of the Dark Side. Vile have your crimes been." He shook his head sadly. "Certain, the verdict is." There was a deep sadness in his eyes as he met the fox's gaze. "Death."  
His voice was grave, stern. The same as the voices that followed. "Death," said Bogo.  
"Death," said Adi-Mundi.  
One by one, the verdicts came. Wilde's breath slowed, his stance became more relaxed. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  
In contrast, Hopps grew increasingly agitated with each reiteration of the word. Her gaze snapped back and forth wildly, her breath coming in quick pants. "Wait!" she cried.  
"Master Bogo," said Yoda remorselessly. "Take custody of the prisoner, you will."  
The water buffalo nodded and stepped forward- only to find his way blocked by Hopps, her ears back, her paw hovering near the lightsaber clipped to her belt. "Master Bogo," she pleaded.  
"Step aside, Hopps," said Bogo.  
She didn't move. "This isn't right!" she insisted, her voice breaking. "He saved my life! He only killed Jedi in self-defense, who attacked him without warning!"  
"One good deed does not make up for a life of evil, young Hopps,'" said Bogo, his voice firm but not unkind. When Hopps still refused to move, his eyes narrowed. "Step aside, Hopps. That is an order."  
She shook her head, setting her feet in resolution. "I won't let you take him."  
With an irritated snort, Bogo moved to brush her aside.  
Hopps drew her saber in a smooth motion, bringing it up in a guard position. Immediately, lightsabers leapt to the paws of the rest of the Council, including Bogo's.  
"Have you gone mad, Hopps?" shouted Bogo. "Stand aside!"  
"I will not," said Hopps, gritting her teeth. Her eyes flicked from side to side, seeing the Council- any one of which could easily defeat her in a fight- moving into combat stances. Only Master Yoda was unarmed, his lightsaber still undrawn. "You won't get him except through-"  
Her saber snapped off as it shot through the air, yanked by the invisible grip of the Force. She gasped in surprise. It shouldn't have happened- she was ready for such a move from any of the Council-  
Then she turned and saw her lightsaber, held in Wilde's upraised paw. "Nick?"  
The Jedi Masters blinked in surprise.  
"Judy," said the fox. His voice was calm, serene. "We both knew this might happen."  
"No!" said Hopps. "You trusted me!"  
"I trusted you to do your best, Judy. You've done everything you can." He turned to Master Yoda and inclined his head, holding the lightsaber loose in his upraised paw. The Jedi nodded gravely and the saber shot from him to Yoda's paw.  
"You can't do this, Nick," said Judy. "You can't-"  
"How did we get here, Judy?" He looked at her. She gazed into those green eyes, seeing regret- but also peace. "Because I won't let you fall."  
Bogo stepped forward and a massive paw fell on Wilde's shoulder. "You must come with me, Ferox."  
"It's Wilde," said the fox tiredly. "Just Wilde."  
Bogo nodded slowly. "Wilde, then." And then he did something strange. Instead of leading Nick out of the room, he looked to Yoda.  
The old Master slowly stood. With a measured pace, he walked in front of Wilde and met his gaze. "No more fear do I sense in this one," he said quietly.  
Hopps blinked.  
"He is at peace," said Adi-Mundi. "He is prepared to become one with the Force."  
"What do you-" began Hopps, a sudden hope rising in her heart. She stopped as Bogo looked at her.  
"You were willing to fight the entire Council to save him," said Bogo. "Why?"  
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. "Because he deserves a chance at redemption."  
"Do you?" said Bogo to Wilde.  
The fox shook his head. "No," he replied.  
"And what will you do if you are given one?"  
Wilde looked to Hopps. "What I must, Master. I can't make up for what I've done."  
"No," agreed Bogo. "But I wonder if you can become more than what you were." He raised his gaze, meeting the eyes of each Jedi Master in turn. Then, he turned to Hopps.  
"We're still going to speak about your defiance, Hopps," he warned.  
Right now, she didn't care. Bowing her head to hide the smile that was creeping steadily over her face, she put as much humility into her voice as she could. "Yes, Master."  
Bogo shook his head, a slight smile on his face. "He'll be your responsibility."  
"Yes, Master."  
The water buffalo nodded. "Very well." He raised his voice, addressing the room. "Nicholas Wilde, once known as Darth Ferox, is hereby granted a stay of execution, to determine if he has truly renounced the Dark Side."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Why?" asked Hopps as she strode alongside Bogo.  
The water buffalo looked at her. "He was afraid."  
"Yes?" she queried. "Fear is a path to the dark side."  
"He was afraid," clarified Bogo, "Until he was sentenced to death."  
She blinked. "What?"  
"It's not punishment he fears, Hopps. He's made peace with that. He was at peace with himself, at peace with the Force. It was the prospect that he faces now, the necessity to earn his redemption- that's what he fears." Bogo stopped and turned to inspect Hopps, the fading light from outside the tall windows in the hallway casting a shadow over his features. "And fear is still a path to the Dark Side. In his case, back to the Dark Side."  
"I see," said Hopps.  
The Jedi Master studied her. "You can still say no," he said. "Because if he falls again, there will be no third chance. Your task is to guide him so he doesn't. But if he does-" the buffalo stopped.  
Hopps closed her eyes. "Then it will be for me to destroy him."  
"You understand," said Bogo, his eyes on hers. "It is no small thing we ask of you, Hopps. You are young yet in the ways of the Force. You can still decline it."  
"No," she said decisively. "I won't give up on him." She braced her feet, defiance in her eyes as she looked at her former Master. "You didn't give up on me."  
Slowly, he nodded. "Very well, Hopps. May the Force be with you."  
He turned to leave, and she held up a paw. “Master, I have one question.”  
Bogo looked back at her. “Yes?”  
She hesitated, gathering her courage. “Nick- Wilde, I mean. He said- he said that the Jedi who he killed attacked him first, without warning. It just- it just doesn’t seem the Jedi way. To kill without warning, without giving him a chance to repent, or at least surrender.”  
Bogo turned fully to face her, studying her with expressionless eyes. “There are times, young Jedi, when even the Jedi have to give way to pragmatism.”  
“But-”  
“You are young yet, Hopps. In time you will see the truth of what I say.” He nodded, dismissing her, and walked away.  
Judy stared after him, her thoughts in turmoil.


	2. Assignments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CodeOne: So I'm cheating a bit by explaining this, but basically there are two stories going on here- one is the events leading up to the prologue, and the second is the events after the prologue. They will (probably always, but at least usually) be sequential- i.e. one "past" chapter, one "present" chapter, one "past" chapter, etc. I'll mark them with the date and approximate time (such as 20 BBY and "Eight months ago") so it doesn't get too confusing.
> 
> Why do it like this? Well, without explaining too much, we decided the two stories are complementary- there's a strong parallelism. Trust me, it'll make sense in the end.
> 
> This chapter is a bit short, but necessary- it sets up where and why Judy is going after Nick (currently Darth Ferox). Apologies for that- most chapters will be about 3000 words as a general rule. Shooting for 1-2 chapters a week, and as always, I promise to finish the story- I hate dead fic (though I understand why it happens).
> 
> Sorry about the long note. Just wanted to clear up a few details. Thanks for reading!

20 BBY (Eight Months Ago)

Judy Hopps was one of the newest Jedi Knights, having just recited the Code in front of the Council of Masters at her Academy. She was about to receive her first assignment as a full Jedi Knight, and the anticipation was nearly enough to cause her foot to thump.

Her master, Bogo, was in his office in an annex to the Jedi Temple proper. Two other new Knights came out of the office, smiling broadly. She watched them, suppressing a pang of envy- they’d been issued a mission to locate a Separatist outpost near the Outer Rim. It sounded adventurous and exciting, and while she knew that every duty of the Jedi was important, she was honest enough with herself to admit she wanted an assignment like that. Something far from her bucolic origins, far from the bustle and endless boredom of Coruscant.

She stood up and knocked at Master Bogo’s door.

“Enter,” he said, absently.

Judy pushed open the door and walked in, stopping in front of his desk.Like the water buffalo himself, it towered over her. She bowed, as odd as that gesture seemed when she barely came up to Bogo’s knee. “Master.”

Bogo had to lean forward to see her over his desk. “Hopps. I’m pleased to see you made it through your trials.”

“Yes, Master. You trained me well.”

He snorted. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Hopps.” He passed a datapad over his desk to her. “This will be your first assignment.”

Accepting the datapad, Judy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This would be her first mission as a Jedi Knight. It was a moment she had been dreaming of since she was a mere kit, a youngling, sent to Coruscant to join the Jedi Academy.

She looked down at the datapad, and her face fell. “VIP escort?”

“It’s an important job, Hopps.” Bogo wouldn’t meet her eyes, fiddling with another datapad.

“Yes, but-“ Judy managed to control her initial burst of feelings. She knew she could be overly ambitious, sometimes- it was one of the few weaknesses identified in training. She took a deep breath, clearing her mind of emotion. “Yes, of course, Master.”

She read further in the datapad, looking for the name of the mammal she would be protecting. She frowned when she saw the name.

“What kind of name is Jar Jar Binks?”

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Jar Jar Binks was apparently a Gungan name.

Gungans were ungainly mammals, with a beak like a duck, beaver tail, and feet like an otter. They also had a strange way of speaking.

“Mesa glad to meeting yousa! Bombad glad to seeing yousa, wesa need Jedi Knights to protecting mesa.”

Judy stared at him blankly, then looked at the guard who had brought her to the Gungan’s office. “What did he just say?”

“The Senator said he is glad to meet you, he feels protection is needed.”

“Theysa always talking about mesa,” said Jar Jar with a serious air. Well, as serious as he seemed capable of being. “Mesa feel like they no liking mesa.” He shrugged. “I trying to meet half and half way, are seeing?”

Judy looked at the guard again, who sighed. “He says he thinks a great many people dislike him, though he tries to be friendly.”

“I- see.” Judy looked back at the Gungan senator. “Well, I’m happy to be of service to you.”

“Wesa going to have great fun!” said Binks, beaming.

 

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

Judy listened with half an ear as Binks made an almost indecipherable speech in the Senate Chamber.

She had come to the conclusion that Senator Binks did, after all, need protection. But not from the Separatists or terrorists- rather, he needed protection from anyone who had to listen to him for more than five minutes. Just hearing his high-pitched, grating voice was enough to make you want to strangle him with his own tongue.

The Jedi were far too civilized to do something like that, though. No, Judy was just thinking about stabbing him in the throat. It would be much more civilized.

She realized how dark her thoughts were getting, and took a moment to meditate. At the same time, she reached out with her feelings.

There was a fair amount of hostility in the Chamber, though of the low-key, annoyed sort rather than anything indicating danger to Binks. She reached out farther, feeling boredom, some anxiety- the war was weighing on many mammals' minds- and the selfishness that had surprised her when she first accompanied Binks to the Senate chamber. She'd always had a vague feeling- reinforced by her Jedi Academy training that the Senate worked only for the good of the Republic. She was disappointed- and a little angry- to find that most Senators were in it for themselves more than anything.  
Still, she was sworn to uphold the Republic. She focused on calming herself more, banishing the anger and frustration.

Suddenly, she sensed something new- a feeling of anticipation approaching. A cold, calculating mind. Judy tensed and turned towards rear of the Senate platform, where the mammal she sensed was approaching. Her paw hovered near her lightsaber-

She blinked as a tiger, face and body hidden behind the white armor of a clone trooper, stepped onto the platform. “Senator Binks?”

Binks had just finished giving his speech. He turned and blinked wide eyes at the clone trooper. “Yes? Why yousa here?”

“I beg your pardon, Senator. I’m here to relieve Jedi Knight Hopps,” said the clone trooper respectfully, his voice attenuated by the helmet he wore. He looked at Hopps. “Knight Hopps, Jedi Master Bogo has summoned you.”

Judy fought to keep a smile from creeping across her face. She was relieved- in every sense of the word. “Thank you, Trooper.” She turned to Binks and bowed. “By your leave, Senator?”

Binks opened his mouth, then closed it. Whether this was surprise or simply another of his odd habits, she couldn’t tell. “Yousa can go, Jedi. Thanking you for yousa assistance-”

She barely heard the last bit of what he said, as she was already on the way out of the Senate Chamber.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Judy found Master Bogo instructing a group of younglings in the tenets of the Jedi Code. She slowed her progress as she drew closer, not wishing to interrupt the class. Respectfully, she waited to one side as Master Bogo had the class repeat the Code.

“There is no emotion, there is peace.”

Judy was reminded of how much frustration she had felt at babysitting the weird Senator. 

She bowed her head, reminding herself of the Code even as she listened.

“There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.”

For a long moment, Judy kept her head bowed, remembering with shame the anger she had felt at Binks. She remembered, now, that all things- even the Senator- were bound together, that every being was part of the Force. That as annoying as he might be, even Binks had a purpose and would leave an imprint, however small or large, on the universe. That all were equally important in the eyes of those who followed the code of the Jedi.

She focused on her breathing, noting the shame but refusing to let it rule her. “There is no emotion,” she repeated to herself. “There is peace.”

Slowly, her mind eased. Slowly, there was peace.

She opened her eyes to see Master Bogo watching her, expressionless. With a word, he dismissed the class and gestured for Judy to follow him.

The Jedi Knight scampered to catch up to Bogo, who slowed his stride so she could keep up easily. They walked through the great halls of the Jedi Temple silently.

After a few minutes, Judy decided to prompt her master. “You summoned me, Master?” 

Bogo nodded, still not looking down at her. “There is an assignment that I am contemplating giving you, Hopps. One that is dangerous, but necessary.”

She fought against her suddenly rising hope. This could be her chance- her chance to prove herself, to prove to herself that she was worthy of being a Jedi. “Yes, master?” she said, trying to keep the eagerness from her voice.

Whether she had not been entirely successful, or whether Bogo had felt her excitement through the Force, Judy didn’t fool the water buffalo. “A willingness to serve is appropriate, Hopps, even praiseworthy. But ambition is one of many paths to the Dark Side.”

Judy nodded, ducking her head. “Yes, master. I just want to-” she hesitated. “To do something useful.”

“And guarding the Senator’s life was not?” asked Bogo. His voice reminded her of when he had asked her questions, trying to guide her to the right answer, but allowing her to find the truth for herself.

As she always did now when she heard that tone, Judy thought it over carefully. “It is important, master, as all lives are important. It is important, too, that the Senators are able to carry out their work safely. But I do not feel it is a proper use of resources to protect Senator Binks- at least, not with a Jedi.”

“And your antipathy- don’t bother denying it, Hopps, I felt it when you said his name- your antipathy toward him had nothing to do with your answer?”

Judy sighed. “Perhaps a bit, master.”

“You are headstrong, Hopps. Dedicated, yes, but a bit too eager, a bit too focused on high adventure rather than the steady, unglamorous work that the Jedi do every day.” He stopped and looked down at her, paws clasped behind his back. “But we were all young, once.” He smiled.

She smiled back, looking up at him. “Even you?”

“Even me,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye.

“But not I,” said a familiar voice. They turned to see Master Yoda, leaning on his walking stick. “Born old was I. Never young and foolish.” The elderly Jedi Master’s voice was light, joking.

Bogo rolled his eyes. “You’re very proud of reaching your age, aren’t you?”

“When nine hundred years you reach, proud you might be too, hm?” Yoda finally reached them, looking up at Bogo. 

“You’re not helping me make my point to young Hopps here, master,” said Bogo.

Yoda poked Bogo in the knee with his stick. “Make your point faster, you should. Then stop you I cannot.” 

Bogo grinned. “Yes, master Yoda.”

Judy smiled along with the two masters. It reminded her that even Jedi Masters could be ordinary mammals at times. “I think I understand your point, Master Bogo.”

He looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. “If so, it would possibly be the first time you did.”

“If the student will not learn, the fault with the teacher may lie,” said Yoda gravely. Bogo shot him a mock glare.

“It’s starting to get a little old, Master Yoda.”

“When nine hundred years you reach-” Judy rolled her eyes inwardly to hear Master Yoda’s favorite phrase again “-then a little old you will be happy to be called.”

Bogo smiled and shook his head. “I concede defeat, master.” He bowed his head to Yoda, who smiled and bowed back.

The two Jedi Masters then turned to look at Judy, who felt a bit intimidated by the two measuring gazes. “Levity aside, young Hopps, it is time I explained the mission to you.” Bogo gestured to a door, leading to a small conference room. 

Inside, Bogo activated the table console. A holo of a planet sprang to life, slowly turning on its axis. 

“Asaris,” said Bogo. “A densely populated planet near the Corellian sector. Most of the planet is similar to Coruscant, one large city.” He tapped a key, and the planet was replaced with a holo of a shadowy figure. Judy peered at it, trying to make out the mammal under the cloak it wore. “And this is the mammal we’re interested in.”

“Why?” asked Judy curiously. 

“Arms shipments were being sent through Asaris to the Separatists,” said Bogo. “Everything from blaster rifles to proton torpedoes to space fighters.”

Judy nodded. “So you want me to track down the arms dealers.” She felt a glow of excitement at the prospect.

“Yes, but that’s a secondary objective.” Bogo looked down at Yoda. “You’re sure about this?”

“Never sure are we, except when the Force guides us,” replied the diminutive Jedi Master. His eyes rested on Judy, making her squirm inwardly with the intensity of his gaze. “And the Force has guided me to her. May it guide her as well.”

Bogo nodded slowly. “Very well.” He looked at Judy, then tapped another key on the console. The holo changed, this time showing an Alderaanian antelope. “This is Jedi Knight Oro Kolan.” Another holo appeared beside the first Jedi Knight, this time of a rhino. “And this is Jedi Knight Ulyer Intly.” 

Judy looked over the two Jedi- she didn’t recognize either, but it was a big galaxy. “Yes?” she said after a pause.

“Both Intly and Kolan were found dead,” said Bogo heavily.

Judy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Dead?”

“They were sent to investigate the arms shipments. They reported something disturbing- a strange figure that was attacking the arms dealers. The image we showed you-” he brought the cloaked figure up again “-was the only holo they managed to send back of the mysterious attacker.”

After taking a deep breath, Judy nodded firmly. “I’m ready for anything.”

“Are you?’ asked Yoda softly. “Tell her, Master Bogo, what else we found.”

Bogo grimaced. “Hopps, it’s important to understand that this is a voluntary mission- no one will think any less of you if you turn it down. If Master Yoda hadn’t foreseen-” he stopped, as if unsure whether he had said too much.

Judy’s ears went up, swiveling to face the water buffalo. “If Master Yoda hadn’t foreseen what?”

Yoda frowned at Bogo, who looked chagrined- an odd expression for him. “For you to find out, that is.” 

“The important part, Hopps, is that both Ulyer and Kolan were killed with lightsabers.” Bogo watched her intently.

Judy looked at him, then at Yoda. “A rogue Jedi?”

“Possibly,” said Bogo. “Or a Sith.”

“A- a Sith? But I thought there were only two Sith- a master and an apprentice. And wasn’t one killed by Obi-wan?”

“The Dark Side has a way of upsetting our preconceptions,” said Bogo dryly. “We cannot rule out the possibility that the Sith are present on Asaris.”

Judy straightened. “I see. Master, I will go to Asaris and track down this mammal, whether SIth or Jedi.”

Bogo cocked his head to one side, studying her. “You’re sure, Hopps? It’s a dangerous mission.”

“I’m not afraid,” she replied.

Yoda shook his head. “You will be,” he said, very softly. “You will be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CodeOne: I exaggerated Jar Jar's speech patterns a bit for comedic effect.


	3. Doing What Is Right

19 BBY (Present day)

The canyon was massive, one of the largest on Farida, a planet that had more than its fair share of them due to a history of high geological activity. Even so, the actual rock that made up the canyon walls was visible only in the few outcroppings and stray boulders, with most of it covered with the jungle which made up most of the biome of the planet. Verdant greenery climbed the walls and filled the canyon floor, obscuring entirely the waters of the river that had carved the canyon long ago.

Almost lost in the foliage were two speeder bikes, visible at a distance only due to their high speed.

On one was a fox- a lithe figure wearing a black vest, white shirt, and weather-beaten pants. A holstered blaster bumped against one hip, a lightsaber on the other. A brown leather bag dangled from its strap across his back.

The other speeder bike was being flown by a bunny, a mammal almost too small to handle the fast-moving vehicle. She wore a loose jacket that would have hidden a toned figure had it not been flapping wildly in the breeze. Her tight tan pants had laces up the side from the top of her bare feet to her knee, though the laces were undone to allow more freedom of movement.

She looked over her shoulder. “I think we lost them,” she shouted to the fox.

Six speeder bikes rose out of the jungle, each piloted by a tan robot with a long neck and semi-cylindrical head. Trade Federation war droids. One fired the blaster in the front of its speeder, narrowly missing the fox as he jerked to one side.

“You just had to say it, didn’t you?” he shouted. “I thought you’d know better by now, Carrots.”

“Don’t blame me. You’re the one who crashed our ship!”

“That wasn’t my fault! We were outnumbered six to one!”

Another blaster shot flew over their heads. “Well, now we’re only outnumbered three to one. So things are getting better,” said Judy.

“If this is better, than next time just let me be executed. It’d be safer.”

Judy gave him a look, then clambered to her feet, standing on the speeder bike. “Nick, hold my speeder steady for a moment.”

Nick gaped at her. “Do my arms look that long to you?!”

“Use the Force, you idiot! I thought foxes were supposed to be smart!”

“Sly, actually! And that’s stereotyping!”

Grumbling, Nick did as she asked. Once the speeder’s path leveled out, she turned around, still standing on the seat.

Her lightsaber flew to her paw, igniting almost immediately. The war droids fired again, but this time she was ready. She deflected two shots with deft movements of her wrist, then batted a third right back into one of the war droids. With a surprised electronic squawk, it flew backwards, shattering as it struck a tree growing out of the canyon wall.

“Five to two,” said Judy with satisfaction. Two of the speeders, she noted, were flying very close together-

She held out a paw and concentrated, and the two speeders suddenly jerked toward one another. The stabilizing vanes in front caught in one another, and the speeders abruptly flipped, both disappearing in balls of fire when they struck a rock outcropping.

“Three to two!” She whooped, pumping a fist in the air.

“Carrots, look out!”

She ducked immediately, feeling a tree branch shoot overhead, close enough that it would have hit her ears if she’d had them standing up. She twisted around, taking back control of her speeder and ascending just in time to avoid another branch. “Nick, you were supposed to be driving this thing!”

“I was! You try driving two bikes at the same time!”

“Okay.” She reached out with the Force and took control of Nick’s bike. “Your turn.”

He looked over at her in confusion. “My turn?”

“I took out three of them. That’s three of them left for you.”

With a sigh, Nick glanced over his shoulder.

The three droids had apparently learned their lesson. Instead of firing, they focused on closing with the two fleeing Jedi. They kept their distance from each other, avoiding any opportunity to crash them together as Judy had.

“Oh, sure, you get the easy part,” said Nick. He stood up as Judy had and pointed downward at his speeder. “Hold this steady, and don’t hit anything with it! I’ll need it when I get back.”

“When you what?”

One of the speeder bikes was close, close enough that the droid piloting it decided to take a shot. It fired and Nick’s lightsaber barely deflected the shot before it hit his speeder bike.

Then he jumped.

The surprised droid had just enough time to emit a surprised squeal before the fox landed on the bike, saber coming around to slash through the droid’s neck, sending the head flying. Nick moved instantly, holding a paw out to the head, which abruptly reversed its direction and struck another droid, sending the droid’s bike into a barrel roll which ended in the side of the canyon with another booming explosion.

The last droid backed off, blasters aiming at Nick. He shook his head and drew his own blaster.

“This is why you don’t bring just a lightsaber to a blaster fight,” he shouted to Judy as he tried to draw a bead on the rapidly moving target.

“You’re a Jedi!”

“Yeah, but he’s not.” Nick fired the blaster, shattering the droid just as it fired.

The blast struck the speeder bike he was on, throwing him off. He fell-

Right onto his speeder, which Judy had brought underneath him just in time to arrest his fall.

Taking a deep breath- that had been too close- he took back control of the bike. “Thanks, Fluff.”

“Can’t let you fall, can I?” She flashed him a grin.

“No. No, you won’t,” he said quietly.

That was the point at which the unseen Federation fighter made its strafing run.

Both Jedi sensed the danger just before the ravening blaster bolts struck home, and both reacted the same way, leaping from their bikes and desperately trying to slow their descent with the Force.

Their speeder bikes exploded overhead, showering them with shrapnel. Nick hissed in pain as one piece struck his leg.

They fell, slowing only slightly, until they struck a tangle of vines running between two sides of the canyon. Nick and Judy grasped at the vines, tangling themselves in them and slowing their fall-

They wound up wrapped in vines, hanging over a hundred meter drop. Nick, his arms bound tightly against his side, bumped into Judy, hanging upside down beside him.

“Well,” he said eventually. “That could have gone better.”

“We’re alive, aren’t we?”

Nick looked down at the canyon floor, far below. “For now, at least.”

“Where there’s life, there’s hope,” said Judy. She managed to work one paw free- the one holding the lightsaber. “Okay, I have a plan.”

“Oh, good.” Nick slowly spun around, bringing her back into view. She was squinting at the vines holding Nick. “Um, Carrots. What are you doing?”

“Hang on, Nick. I think if I cut one of the vines holding you up, the rest will swing down toward that tree.”

“No.”

“I’m almost certain.” She activated the lightsaber.

“Carrots, listen to me. I am emphatically not in favor of this-“

She swung the saber.

Nick felt himself in free-fall- no, she was right. He was falling, but the vine was still holding him, causing him to fall in an arc toward the large tree trunk. Desperately, he reached out to the Force to push away from the tree. It slowed him enough that instead of killing him, he just struck with enough force to knock all the breath out of him and see a few stars.

He took a second to assess. All pieces in place- check. Bleeding- only the shrapnel wound from earlier. Head- ow. Breathing- come back to breathing.

Slowly, he caught his breath.

“A little help here?” shouted Judy from above.

Nick got his paw free and grabbed a nearby branch, pulling himself onto it. He pulled the rest of the vines off.

“Nick, any time now.”

He licked his paw and brushed his mussed fur back into place over his head.

“Nick, this is more than a little infuriating.”

He dusted off his vest and shirt.

“Nick!”

Affecting surprise, he looked up at Judy. If she’d been able to tap her foot while hanging upside down while wrapped in vines, she would have. “Oh, hey. I’d forgotten about you. Must have been from me hitting my head against this tree.”

“Will you just get me down from here?”

“Of course, Jedi Knight.” Nick drew his blaster and fired.

Judy let out a shrill shriek as she fell- and stopped. Above her, Nick had grabbed one end of the vine and was now pulling her up. She bumped against the tree trunk- though not anywhere near as hard as Nick had- as he hauled her onto the wide branch he found himself on.

Still tied up, she looked up at Nick. “Get these vines off of me.”

“I dunno, might leave you tied up. Makes it easier to get away with this.” He reached down and tickled her feet.

“Nick- stop-“ Her protests turned to giggles.

After tickling her for a few more seconds, wondering the entire time why she didn’t just blast him with a Force shockwave, he leaned down and slashed through the vines around her body with a few flicks of his claw. Judy struggled free and gave him a dirty look. “Stop laughing, fox.”

“You were laughing first,” he said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes and stood up, dusting off her clothes. “Just remember, you owe me one.”

“How do you figure that one, Carrots?” He leaned over and grimaced as he saw how far they were above the canyon floor.

“I saved you when we bailed out over the planet.”

“And I saved you when we got jumped by the droids. Remember that thing with the hover tank?”

“Then I took out three of them.”

“I took out the other three.”

“And I caught you with the speeder bike.”

“Then I got you free from the vines.”

Judy paused. “Well, I got you free first.”

“By letting me swing into a tree! Doesn’t count if there’s any head injury involved!”

“Head injury, huh? That would explain a lot about you. Besides, who was tickling who?”

“Whom.”

Judy glared at him.

He crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue at her.

Hiding a smile, Judy turned around and busied herself with gathering up the vines that had been wrapped around her. “Do you still have it?”

Nick abruptly turned serious. “Yeah.” He patted the leather bag strapped onto his back. “Safe and sound.”

“We need to get that back to the Republic.” Judy finished gathering all the vines.

“Relax, Carrots. We got this.” He frowned. “What are you doing with those vines?”

She pointed at the ground far below. “Well, we’ve got to get down somehow.”

Nick sighed.

 

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“I think I saw a settlement back that way,” said Judy, pointing to the east.

“What? When?” Nick followed her as she started walking.

“Right after we stole those speeder bikes from the droid encampment. You know, while you were saying we were going to die.”

Nick stared at her unbelievingly. “You noticed a settlement while we were flying at high speed away from six droids shooting at us?”

She held up her chin and continued walking. “I am a trained Jedi Knight, you know. We have pretty good observational skills.”

Nick stuck out his foot, tripping her. Judy scrambled to her feet, glaring at him.

He leaned over, paws behind his back. “Didn’t observe that, did you?”

“This will be almost too easy,” said a voice.

Instantly, both mammals drew their lightsabers, the twin blades lighting up the dimly lit forest far below the trees. “Who’s there?” said Nick. Instinctively, he put his back against Judy’s as he scanned the shadowy jungle around them.

“Darth Ferox, isn’t it?” The voice was smooth, cultured. “Strange to see you with a Jedi Knight. At least, not one you haven’t killed.”

Nick felt Judy tense behind him. “That’s not my name anymore,” he said. He felt a flash of anger- and of fear. Anger that Judy would still be afraid of him- and fear that she would leave him.

Both anger and fear were of the Dark Side. He focused on his breathing, pushing out the negative emotions.

“Interesting,” said the voice. It sounded pensive. “I sense the Dark Side in you, Ferox. And-“

“Show yourself,” snapped Judy.

A mammal appeared out of the shadows, his black cloak concealing his features. He was much larger than the two Jedi, standing at least six foot tall. More than that, they couldn’t say- he could have been predator or prey, a small bison or a large deer. Had he not moved, they would never have even seen him. “Who are you?” demanded Judy.

The mammal tilted his head, studying her. “Jedi Knight Hopps. I have heard of you. How you defied the will of the Jedi Council. How you raised a lightsaber to your own master.”

“It- it wasn’t like that,” said Judy. Her voice shook. “I was just doing what was right.”

“What was right?” mused the cloaked figure. “I wonder, Jedi, if you think that those who follow the power of the Dark Side think they are doing what is wrong?”

Nick growled and stepped forward. “Leave her alone. Deal with me, if that’s why you’re here.”

The mammal’s head turned to him. “It is, in fact, why I am here, Ferox. I bring a message from Darth Mesmeris.”

Both Jedi started in surprise. “Mesmeris is dead,” snarled Nick. He took another step forward and raised his voice. “Now tell me why I shouldn’t send you to join him?”

“Nick!” Judy’s voice was stern. “Stand back.”

He whipped his head around to stare at her. “Judy, I-“

“Stand. Back.”

Their eyes locked for a fraction of a second, and a lifetime. With a sigh, Nick stepped back.

Judy’s eyes followed him, full of concern. He smiled shakily at her and nodded. “I’m okay.”

The figure watched the byplay impassively. “Are you well, Darth Ferox?” it said with mock concern. “Perhaps you are feeling angry? Fearful?” He took a step forward, causing both Jedi to raise their lightsabers into guard positions. “Powerless?” The cloaked figure- a Sith, there was no doubt- laughed.

“What is this so-called message, Sith?” asked Judy, her voice cold.

“It is this. Ferox, your master sends you greetings. He wishes to say that despite your betrayal, there is still much to learn, and much that he is willing to teach. But, he says that to take your place at his side again, you will first have to destroy his other apprentice.”

“You?” asked Nick.

The Sith inclined his head in confirmation. “The duel will take place under his own eyes. If you are victorious, then you will join him again, and he will show you the true power of the Dark Side.”

“I refuse,” said Nick, his voice steady. “Now what?”

“If you refuse,” said the Sith menacingly, “Then he will take everything from you. Your hopes. Your peace. Your soul. Everything you love.” It turned its head to look at Judy, who stared back defiantly. “And only then will you be destroyed.”

“Well, might as well get to it then,” said Nick. “Because I still refuse.”

“Do not rush into your own destruction, Ferox. You have some time to decide.”

“I’ve had long enough. And it’s Wilde, thanks.” With that, Nick dashed forward, barely hearing Judy call him back.

The Sith blocked his attack, the two lightsabers flashing, and Nick caught a glimpse of a lion’s face under the hood of the cloak. Snarling, the lion threw itself backwards, then leapt into the treetops.

Nick bent his knees in preparation to jump as well, but stopped when he felt Judy’s paw on his shoulder. “Nick, no.”

He looked at her, trying to force down the anger he felt. The anger which led to the disappointment in her eyes.

There were some things he could not live with, and the knowledge of his crimes were far easier than Judy’s disappointment.

“Carrots- Judy. He needs to be stopped.”

“And he will be,” said Judy quietly. “But not here. Not on ground of his choosing.” She gripped his shoulder harder. “Not out of anger.”

With a sigh, Nick sat down. “You’re right.”

“Aren’t I always?” she said, smiling a bit.

“Yes, Master,” he said, flashing a grin at her.

“Not yet. Though it seems I do have a particularly difficult padawan to deal with.”

“You know you love me.”

“Do I know that?” She looked up at him with a confident smirk before it slowly fell off her face. “...do I know that?” she murmured to herself. The code of the Jedi was clear, passion and emotional attachments were potential paths to the Dark Side and to be avoided at all costs. Love was forbidden, but wasn’t an offer of friendship, itself a type of love, part of what brought Nick back from exactly that? How could something be a push both towards and away from the same destination? 

Her thoughts continued to spiral, and the silence grew awkward until Nick interrupted it with the first thing that popped into his head to do so with. “Well, this has been a blast, but we better get moving.”

Judy shook herself out of her reverie, silently reminding herself of the Jedi oath and nodding. “Let’s go.”


	4. Encounters

_ 20 BBY (Eight months ago) _

 

Judy kept her head down, using the hood of her cloak to mask her features as she made her way through the streets of Asaris Prime.

The city had a lot in common with Coruscant- tall buildings that seemed literally to scrape the sky, countless landspeeders and flyers in endless traffic lanes, walkways that ran a dizzying height above the ground below.

And a seedy, dark underside where all types lived. A wretched hive of scum and villainy, as Obi-Wan would say. She'd spent some time with the tiger when she was training, and later with his strange apprentice. Far older than she would have expected, the apprentice- Anakin Skywalker, if she remembered right- seemed a bit...off.

She shook herself, banishing the past. She was here for a specific reason.

A Sith.

There were rumors, whispers that Judy had picked up as she investigated the deaths of the two Jedi. Rumors of a Force-wielding mammal, who shot lightning from his paws and could strangle a mammal from a distance. Someone- a Force-user- was on the planet, and the recent events involving Darth Maul showed the Sith were not as extinct as previously believed.

Certainly, there was always supposed to be only two Sith- but as Bogo had said, the Dark Side never quite lived up to expectations.

She pulled her cloak closer as a Gamorrean warthog gave her more than a passing glance, hoping he thought it was from the cold- this part of the planet-wide city was well into the polar regions. She knew she didn't quite fit in down here in the undercity. But this was where her latest informant was, and so this was where she needed to be.

If she wasn't very much mistaken, the contact she was meeting had some sort of ties to a criminal organization run by someone only known as “Mr. Big”. She noticed a red neon sign displaying “Javon's Cantina” and saw that all three A's were blinking. That'd be the location her contact had told her to meet him.

She slipped inside, wincing at the noise- she hesitated to call it music- being played by the nervous-looking band. Fortunately, with the hood her ears were already down, or the pain from the racket might have been literal instead of figurative. Scanning the room, she hesitated. How was she supposed to find her informant?

“Miss Underhill, I take it.” The dry voice came from behind her, and she had to draw on her Jedi training not to jump. In the general low-level suspicion and hostility that pervaded the bar, she hadn’t even marked the presence of voice’s owner. And 'Underhill' was the name she had chosen as an alias- it was a common enough rabbit name to not draw notice.

She turned to see a wallaby, roughly her size, eyeing her from a nearby booth. Two large polar bears sat to either side of the wallaby. Carefully avoiding an inebriated hippo, she made her way to the booth. “I am Underhill. You are?”

“Just a friend,” said the wallaby dismissively. He gestured at the seat opposite him and the two polar bears. “Have a seat.”

Judy sat down gingerly, eyes on the two polar bears. They watched her impassively. “A friend, eh? So what does my friend have to tell me?”

“Simple enough. The one you are looking for is a fox, a fox known to us only as Ferox.”

“Looking for?” said Judy, affecting a surprised expression. “Who said I'm looking for anyone?”

“At least five different mammals, Miss Underhill.” He lowered his voice. “Or should I say, Jedi Knight Hopps.”

Instinctively, Judy opened her senses, listening and feeling for any indication someone else had heard. As far as she could tell, the band's music had covered the wallaby's low voice. “I'm sure I don't know what you mean.”

“I'm just as sure that you do.” The wallaby leaned back in his seat. “Ferox has been active for some time. He has killed a number of our associates who tried to stop him from invading our turf. For this, and other reasons, we want him dead. So it seems our interests coincide.”

“Not quite,” said Judy. “I want to bring him to justice, not see him dead.”

“I assure you, Miss Underhill, in his case there will be little difference. Or are you forgetting the two-” he lowered his voice again “-Jedi Knights who were killed.”

“No,” said Judy. “I haven't.”

“I don't know what punishment is likely for someone who slew two of such mammals, but I doubt it's a slap on the wrist.” The wallaby shrugged. “It makes little difference to the organization. But if he could defeat two Jedi, well-” He spread his paws. “I think you know what that must mean about him.”

“He is a Force user.”

“Almost certainly. At first, we thought he might be a Jedi acting against us. Only when the two others were killed were most of us convinced otherwise.”

“Most of you?” asked Judy curiously.

“Mammals in our business tend to be a suspicious lot.”

“I see. So how can I find this Ferox?”

The wallaby leaned forward again. “He has been interrupting some shipments of ours, shipments that have been going to someone the Republic might not approve of.”

There was one likely candidate for that. “Let me guess. Arms shipments to the Trade Federation.”

The wallaby's eyebrows shot up. “Remarkable. Or perhaps you read my mind?”

“Perhaps,” said Judy vaguely. It was true that Jedi couldn’t directly read thoughts, but her new ‘friend’ didn’t need to know that. “ Or perhaps I just did my research.”

Her informant eyed her speculatively, but then shrugged. “That was why we thought he might be a Jedi acting under orders. Still, perhaps he is a rogue Jedi?”

Judy ignored the question, mostly because she didn't know the answer- though her suspicions were starting to firm up into convictions. “So again, how can I find him?”

“We've prepared another shipment. If our information is correct, Ferox will certainly be there. And, I suspect, so will you.”

Judy thought for a moment, then nodded.

 

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Judy crouched on an old fire-escape overlooking the open area below, outside what she guessed had once been a warehouse of some kind. It was probably ancient- it had been a long time since anyone would have wanted to store anything of value down here in the undercity.

Her chronometer told her it was high noon up above them, but the undercity was still in a stygian darkness, all light blocked by the miles of city above them. For once, Judy didn't mind- the darkness and her cloak served to make her form almost indistinguishable on the fire escape. This was clear from the low voices of the criminals below, who knew she'd be around but not where. Her Force-enhanced hearing picked up their speculations.

Frankly, she wished they would stop talking about her. If she could hear them, so could Ferox if he was near.

She still wondered why he was attacking these arm shipments. The Battle of Coruscant had proven that the Sith were behind the Separatist movement. So why stop arms shipments? And why would a Sith be so interested in stopping a few petty arms shipments when he could be doing what Sith did best- trying to take over the galaxy?

It made little sense. More reason to take Ferox alive, if at all possible. Perhaps then she could get answers.

The two arms dealers below abruptly became more alert, eyes on the alley leading to the warehouse. She focused on it, too, and made out a shadowy form making its way down the alley. Quietly, she unclipped the lightsaber from her belt.

The two arms dealers relaxed when the figure finally came into the sparse light. “Halivon,” said one. “Wondered if you were going to make it.”

“I was detained briefly on level seven,” said the newcomer, a camel. The customer, presumably. He walked up to the crates in the middle of the warehouse and examined them. “Is this the entire shipment?”

“Twenty proton torpedoes,” confirmed Mr. Big's underling. “Though I thought the Separatists were making plenty of those on their own.”

Halivon popped open one of the crates and grunted. “It seems my customer- who may or may not be the Separatists- needs alternate sources of supply. Which is good for both you and me, so I wouldn't question it too closely.” He smiled slightly when he saw the torpedo in its casing. “Very good. I'll just run a quick test and we can-”

Judy nearly missed the figure falling from the ceiling as it landed among the small group below. She didn't even have time to move before she heard the  _ snap-hiss  _ of an igniting lightsaber and two of the arms dealers fell without even having time to scream.

The camel drew his blaster with remarkable speed, loosing three shots at the cloaked figure in rapid succession. All three were neatly blocked. A paw came up, the cloak's sleeve falling back to reveal orange fur, and Judy blinked as she saw the paw holding a blaster. What kind of Sith- or rogue Jedi- used a blaster?

The blaster fired just as Judy reached the two combatants, knocking the camel to the floor with a surprised bellow.

Judy leaped into the air, her own lightsaber igniting as she slashed at the shadowy figure. He moved with incredible speed, blocking her saber with a flash of light and firing the blaster at the same time. She twitched her wrists, deflecting the blaster bolt so that it struck the blaster right from his paw. He swore and shook out his paw before falling into a two-pawed stance.

The exertion had knocked back the hood of his cloak, and she saw that he was, indeed, a fox. His green eyes reflected the light from their lightsabers. Judy reviewed what she knew about foxes.

Nocturnal mammals, so he had the advantage in the endless night of the undercity. Taller and stronger than a bunny- well, that applied to most mammals other than rodents. And a predator, with sharp teeth and claws. Every advantage seemed to be his.

She attacked.

The lightsabers clashed, the thrum and crash of their passage and deflection filling the air. After several passes, she fell back to reassess the fox. She noted the unusual color of his lightsaber, orange with a white core. It contrasted weirdly with her own green saber, essentially a standard choice for a young Jedi.

“Who are you?” she asked, circling around to the her left.

He mirrored her action, moving to her right, keeping her in front of him. “I am called Darth Ferox, Jedi.”

She nodded slowly. “So you are a Sith.”

“Yes,” said the fox. He spun the lightsaber in his paw, an insouciant gesture that she wouldn't have associated with the Sith. They rarely showed any signs of humor or even irreverence, from what she had heard. “Clever of you to figure that out, Jedi Knight Obvious.”

“Put away your saber and come with me. I give you my word that you will have a fair trial.”

The fox blinked, and then shook his head- not just in refusal of her offer, but in wonder. “You didn't really think that would work, did you?”

She shrugged. “Not really. But I'm supposed to try.”

“Fair enough, though you may wish to remind your colleagues of that. Shall we begin?”

“I thought we already had,” she said and she jumped.

She somersaulted over his head, slashing down at him as she did. Despite being caught off guard, he managed to deflect her saber with only some singed fur on the top of his head. He counter-attacked, and it was all Judy could do to hold him off. After exchanging a flurry of blows they separated, the fox breathing a bit harder than before.

“That was close, Jedi.” He gingerly felt at the top of his head with one paw, feeling the singed fur. “I nearly lost an ear.”

She snorted. “You think that was close, try having a bunny's ears.”

“Yeah, I bet you had to get up  _ ear- _ ly in the morning if you wanted to keep both of them through lightsaber training.”

Judy nearly gaped at him. “I have to admit, I didn't expect a Sith to be cracking jokes. Even if that pun was bad enough to make you fall to the Dark Side all by itself.”

“Hey, go easy on me. I'm a bit busy here,” said the fox, twirling his lightsaber again. “You ready for round two?”

As he spoke, Judy reached out with the Force towards him. She felt anger, resentment- fear. All emotions of the Dark Side.

And something else which made her blink in surprise. A part of him that was fighting back. “You haven't been of the Dark Side long, have you?” she almost whispered. “There's still good in you, Ferox.”

His face hardened. “Tell that to the two Jedi I killed, Carrots.”

Judy felt a flash of anger, partly at the derisive nickname, but mostly at his reference to the murders. She took a breath, reminding herself that anger was a path to the dark side. “I hadn't forgotten.”

“At least you gave me a warning before trying to kill me,” said Ferox, his voice low with barely suppressed rage. “The other two didn't even have the decency to give me that. For that, I'll give you one chance.” He backed away, though keeping his saber in guard position. “Run away, Carrots. Run away, and I won't chase you.”

Judy frowned at the fox’s words. Had they really not even tried to warn him? That wasn’t the Jedi way- you always gave someone a chance if at all possible.  _ Although, maybe it wasn’t possible in his case.  _  “You know I can't do that, Ferox.”

“Then you know what has to happen next,” he said quietly.

“Yes,” she said. Her voice was regretful. Killing was sometimes necessary, but she would never be able to do so without thinking there could have been another way. “I do.” She took a step toward him. “And for what it's worth, I'm sorry.”

He blinked, and then smiled slightly. “Me, too.”

They charged at one another once again.

Suddenly, she felt a sense of imminent danger. Something was about to go wrong, she could feel it. Maybe it was just the hostility from the Sith, but- she hesitated, just slightly.

Judy heard a snap, then found herself suddenly hauled upside down into the air, a net around her. She frantically tried to move, but was already entangled, slowing her movements down. Her lightsaber was pulled from her paw, and she barely had time to see a small flying droid make away with it before a sharp pain struck her side. She looked down to see a dart struck in her. Ferox must have been responsible, and clearly he was taking no chances when capturing a Jedi. Desperately, she reached to the Force to try and neutralize whatever toxin had entered her bloodstream, but it was...too...late...

She lost consciousness, realizing that Ferox had apparently claimed his third Jedi victim.

 

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Ever so slowly, she came to, hearing the sound of rushing water below her. She blinked her eyes to clear some of the muzziness, and slowly the room came into focus. A large chair sat behind an equally massive desk. Two polar bears stood on either side and there was another presence behind her that she twisted to see. Sure enough, a third polar bear was holding her up by her cloak. To her shock, a slowly waking Ferox was held up by yet another bear. He shook his head and his eyes widened when they saw her.

“Wait a minute- this wasn't part of your plan?”

She shook her head, and wished she hadn't as the room started swimming. “I thought it was yours.”

“Silence!” growled the polar bear, shaking Judy.

“Hey,” said the fox indignantly. “That's a Jedi Knight you're shaking. Show some respect.”

Judy gaped at him. “Weren't you just trying to kill me?”

“Well, sure.” The fox wouldn't meet her eyes and she couldn’t get a clear read on his emotions. The after-effects of the drug were clouding her mind just enough to make reaching out with the Force difficult. “But you know.  _ Respectfully _ .”

A side door opened and a polar bear entered the room.

Judy gathered up what dignity she could while being held up in the air by a massive paw. “Mr. Big, I presume.”

“Not exactly,” said Ferox.

She cast a quizzical glance at him, before an even larger polar bear- barely able to fit through the door- came next. “So this is Mr. Big?”

“Will you be quiet, Fluff? I'm trying to think.”

The polar bear sat behind the desk, paws clasped. He set them down on the desk and opened them, revealing- 

A shrew.

Judy gave Ferox a surprised look, but he just rolled his eyes at her. “Size matters not,” he said.

“Oh, who died and made you Master Yoda?”

“Good evening, Jedi,” said the shrew. He glanced at Ferox. “And Sith.”

Ferox waved. “Hi. Good to see you again. Can I go now?”

The shrew studied him closely. “You were never what I expected from a Sith.”

“Oh, you know us Sith. Always cracking wise.”

Mr. Big looked a question at Judy. She sighed.

“He's a little out of the ordinary for Sith.” She hesitated. “At least, I think. I guess he is the first one I've met.”

Big looked at Ferox, narrowing his eyes. The sense of anger and cold malice beneath it were almost nauseating to the Jedi. “You double-crossed us. After I treated you like family.”

“A hundred and twenty percent mark-up is the family rate? I had no idea.”

Judy looked at them, surprised. “You two were working together?”

Ferox glanced at her. “The key word there is 'were', Carrots. Not anymore.” He gestured toward the polar bear holding him up. “As you might have guessed.”

“Ferox betrayed me,” said the shrew. “Stole an entire shipment, and then started attacking our other shipments. For what purpose, I don't know.” He scowled. “But there was only one thing to be done.”

“You called in the Jedi,” said Judy, her voice tight with anger. “To act as your enforcers.” She was already preparing to use the Force to get away from the polar bear holding her up, but waited. Maybe she could learn more.

“It worked, didn't it?” said Mr. Big composedly. “And now, I'm afraid I need to dispose of you both.” He stood up and looked at the polar bears holding up Nick and Judy. “Ice them.”

A trap door opened up below them, and Judy found herself looking down at an icy river far below. Desperately, she reached out to the Force. But between the effects of the drug she had been dosed with and the abrupt turn of the conversation, there just wasn’t time.

“Now, hold on one second,” began Ferox.

Then the bears let them go.


	5. Chapter 4- Budget Cuts

Present Day- 19 BBY

The settlement they had spotted was, it turned out, a hunter’s camp. The mammals in it gave them curious looks as Nick and Judy walked into the encampment.

“What do they hunt?” asked Nick as he looked around.

“Bugs,” said Judy. She gestured at a stack of carapaces on a cargo speeder. “The carapaces of the Farida elephant beetle are remarkably strong for their weight.”

Nick eyed the massive carapaces. “Um, how big are these beetles?”

“About the size of that speeder.”

“And they live in the jungle. The jungle we were just walking around in.”

“You’d know this if you read the briefing before we got here.”

A rangy wolf, dressed in light green camouflage working clothes, spotted them and traded looks with another wolf. He walked up. “Hello, strangers. Are you here from the Inspector General’s office?”

Judy opened her mouth, but Nick beat her to the punch. “That’s right. Our speeder developed an engine fault a few kilometers back.” He waved behind them in a vague gesture. “Had to walk the rest of the way.”

“Right,” said the wolf dubiously. “Usually the inspectors come on a ship, not a speeder.”

“Budget cuts,” said Nick. “You know how it goes.”

“The government cut its budget? The government?” said the wolf incredulously.

“Er, yes. See, we didn’t quite use all of it, so they figured we had too much money.” Nick spread his paws. “Welcome to government work.”

“Uh-huh.” The wolf looked suspiciously at the fox. “Can I see some identification?”

With a put-upon sigh, Judy waved her paw and pressed gently on his mind with the Force. “You don’t need to see our identification.”

The wolf’s eyes took on a glazed look. “I don’t need to see your identification.”

“We’re quite clearly government inspectors.”

“You’re quite clearly government inspectors.” The wolf shook himself. “Well, I better show you to the merchandise, eh? Come this way.”

As they followed the wolf, Judy nudged Nick. “We could have just told the truth.”

The fox looked at her askance. “With Separatist war droids in the area? They’re either working with them or at least under their control. No sense in risking it.”

Judy had to concede the point. “I suppose. I’m not real happy about having to lie to them, though.”

Nick shrugged. “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.”

The wolf moved to a speeder with a cloth draped over the cargo. “So here it is.” He pulled off the cloth.

Nick and Judy stared blankly at the cargo which had just been so nonchalantly revealed. “Um, that’s quite clearly not carapaces from an elephant beetle,” said Judy after a long pause.

“In fact, it looks like about a dozen crates of Sansanna spice,” added Nick. Sansanna was a very potent, very illegal narcotic.

“Well, yes,” said the wolf. “I mean, what do you expect out of a smuggling operation?” His eyes narrowed. “I mean, you’re here for your cut, right?”

Two other wolves nearby moved closer, gripping their hunting blasters tightly. “What’s going on here, Rolf?” Too many to fool with a simple Jedi mind trick.

Nick and Judy traded looks. “Why can’t anything be easy?”Nick wondered with tired resignation.

 

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

The speeder flew out of the camp, followed by a lot of shouting and a fair few blaster bolts. Nick had managed to disable the other two speeders in the short fight that followed their unmasking, so there was no pursuit.

“So the local government is crooked,” mused Nick. “That probably leaves them out as far as mammals that might help us.”

“I think that’s a fair assumption. We know the Trade Federation has their paws in quite a few pies, including drug running. So if the government is involved in drug running-“

“They’re probably involved with the Separatists, which is precisely why I didn’t want to just walk up and announce ourselves.” Nick smugly agreed before getting serious again. “So, what do we do now?”

“I’m thinking we hire a ship and get out of here.”

“Hire a ship, eh? The thing is, I don’t have any credits, and I don’t think you do either.”

“I have the letter of credit from the Republic- oh.”

“Yeah, we go flashing that around and we might as well hold up a sign saying ‘Jedi Knights, Come Get Us.” Nick gave her a grim look. “We may have to use an alternate revenue stream.”

“Alternate- like what, exactly?” asked Judy suspiciously.

Nick looked significantly at the crates of spice.

“Oh, no,” said Judy. “I am not selling drugs!”

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Their buyer- a Toydarian bat named Satko- dipped a claw into the spice crate and touched it delicately to his tongue. For a moment, his eyes glazed as the spice took effect. “Pure uncut Sansanna,” he murmured. He turned toward Judy and Nick and eyed them sharply. “I thought I knew everyone who dealt in this much weight.”

Judy, naturally, had objected strongly to the idea of selling the spice they had accidentally stolen. Eventually, she had to concede that the greater good required them to do so, but she insisted on calling it a “buy bust”- a sting operation intended to draw out a smuggler. She was trying to ignore the fact that, since they couldn’t actually arrest the smuggler, they were just going to “confiscate” his money. That is to say, steal.

It wasn’t an ideal solution, but it was the best they had.

It had taken Nick a surprisingly short amount of time to track down a large-scale smuggler- he had started with a street junkie and worked his way up the chain. After all, nothing gets answers faster than a motivated Jedi who knows how to use a mind trick, and drug dealers are not known for their mental fortitude.

So now they found themselves in a solid-looking, empty warehouse to make the sale. Judy was reminded of the place where she and Nick had first met. It made sense, she supposed- abandoned warehouses were invariably empty, shielded from prying eyes, and large enough to accommodate both enforcers and bulky merchandise.

It still felt a bit cliche, though.

Nick idly polished a claw on his vest. “Look, Flappy, do you want it or not? I’m sure we can find other buyers.”

For a long moment, the bat studied them, then shrugged. “I can’t take all of it right now. I’ll take two crates for forty thousand.”

“Forty thousand?” said Nick with outrage. ‘It’s worth at least a hundred.”

“Yeah, but I have a feeling that this stuff is hotter than a quasar,” said the Toydarian bat.

“Seventy-five. We took a big risk getting this stuff.”

Judy coughed, trying to get Nick’s attention.

The Toydarian shook his head sorrowfully. “And I’m taking a big risk buying it. Fifty.”

Nick shrugged. “Sixty, and that’s my final offer. I’d rather sell to you than someone else, but I’ll take the chance.”

After a long moment, Satko nodded. “Sixty it is. Give me a minute to get the money.”

“Take your time.”

Once the bat had moved some distance away, Judy rounded on Nick. “Why were you arguing with and antagonizing him! Forty thousand is plenty to get us off planet. This is a buy bust, Nick, not an actual deal.”

“Keep your voice down, Carrots,” said Nick, casting a worried glance over his shoulder. The Toydarian and his guards didn’t seem to have heard. “If I hadn’t haggled, he’d know something was up.”

He paused for a moment, before staring at the floor. “Please Judy, trust me.”

The use of her real name got her attention. Not Master or even Carrots, but her name. Something in him still expected to be distrusted, and while for some that may be true, nothing could be further from reality. She reached out with a paw to gently force him to look at her again.

“I trust you, Nick, and I always will.”

Nick ducked his head, slightly embarrassed at the feelings of vulnerability her trust created. “Thanks.”

“How do you know so much about spice smuggling, anyway?”

“Well, you don’t exactly get government grants when you’re trying to take over the galaxy, you know? So my former master and I had to entertain, er-“

“Alternate revenue streams,” said Judy flatly. “You smuggled drugs. A Sith lord was smuggling drugs.”

“It paid for the evil plans, anyway.” Nick shrugged.

Judy shook her head with a mix of disbelief and exasperation as the Toydarian returned carrying a metal case. “Here we go,” said the Toydarian. “Sixty thousand credits.”

Nick took the case. “You don’t mind if I count it, do you?”

“Go right ahead.”

Nick opened the case- and found it empty. He looked up resignedly, knowing what he was likely to see both from experience and the feelings of hostility coming from their temporary business associates.

Yep, that was a blaster pointed at his face. “Actually,” said Watto. “I decided to give myself a little discount. You really should have brought more security- I would have paid the money if it hadn’t been just the two of you, but when opportunity knocks only a fool fails to answer”

Judy sighed. “You’ll pay us what is owed,” she said, waving a paw and attempting to push down on the bat’s will. It felt strange though, like pressing against something rigid instead of the malleable nature of those she was used to dealing with.

Watto frowned at her. “What do you think you’re-“ His eyes suddenly widened. “Jedi! Take them down!”

Two lightsabers ignited as one, deflecting the blaster shots that were already on their way. Nick backpedaled away from the Toydarian’s thugs, deflecting follow-up shots away from both himself and Judy as he did. Beside him, Judy leaped into the air and extended a paw, ripping the blaster from one thug’s paws. She then sent it flying at another of Watto’s mammals, striking him in the head and sending him to the ground in a heap.

“Jedi mind tricks don’t work on Toydarians,” shouted Nick as he threw himself behind the cover of a cargo lifter.

Judy bounced off a wall and joined him behind the lifter. More blaster shots struck the improvised cover, shaking it with the impacts. “How was I supposed to know that?”

Nick leaned around the corner of the lifter, firing his blaster at one of the Toydarian’s enforcers. “They don’t teach that in the Jedi Academy?”

“No!”

“How useless are they? I’m mostly self-taught and even I knew that.”

Judy swatted another bolt along its return path, narrowly missing the thug who had fired it. “It just didn’t come up! We’re really not supposed to use the mind trick as much as we have been, honestly.”

“Why the heck not? A few years ago I would have suggested interrogation by electrocution, this is comparatively saint-like!.” Nick fired again, striking one of the crates full of spice. He then frowned as his eyes tracked Satko.

Judy’s ordinarily perfect Jedi calm shattered for a moment at the tone of indignation coming from the fox. “Is this really the time for a debate on the ethics of the Jedi code?!” she screamed in frustration as Nick’s eyes popped open and his ears laid back in shock at her change in demeanor.

The bat had been flying, first to get clear of the line of fire, but now to land in the speeder he had brought to the deal. The same speeder that, presumably, had the money in it. The speeder’s repulsors whined as he brought it on-line. The holographic controls adapted themselves to his species, and in moments he was almost ready for takeoff.

“We’re about to lose our money, Carrots.”

“It’s the Republic’s money, not ours.”

“Then maybe the Republic will stop him from leaving and give us a lift off this planet.”

Judy poked her head around the corner and saw the speeder rising into the air and starting a slow turn. “Cheese and crackers,” she muttered. “We need to get past Satko’s enforcers.”

Nick fired again, hitting another one of their opponents. “We’re whittling them down, but not fast enough.” His next shot struck another one of the spice crates, sending a powdering of dust into the air.

Judy blinked. “That’s it! Cover me!”

She stood up and stepped out of cover, Nick desperately leaping in front of her to block the incoming fire. She extended a paw toward the spice crates.

The tops of the metal crates abruptly flew open, and a whirlwind picked up the spice, spreading it throughout the warehouse.

The incoming fire slowed, then stopped. Nick lowered his lightsaber, surveying the scene.

The Toydarian’s thugs were sitting or lying on the ground with goofy expressions on their faces. One of them was giggling.

“You realize you just drugged about twenty mammals,” said Nick.

“No time for that now, the Toydarian is getting away!”

Sure enough, the speeder had lifted off and was slowly gaining speed as it made its way to the warehouse doors. Nick immediately began sprinting toward it.

Even with Force-enhanced speed, he’d never make it. Unless-

Nick raised his blaster and fired at the speeder’s engine.

Sparks flew as a repulsor blew out, causing the speeder to list to its left, so far that the left wing dug into the ground. The resulting drag slowed the speeder just enough that Nick was able to catch up.

He jumped onto the canopy over the driver’s seat, and slashed with his saber, neatly cutting the speeder open like a tin can. The shocked face of Satko was suddenly revealed, and Nick grabbed him by the throat, pulling him bodily out of the driver’s seat.

“How about we start over, Satko?”

The Toydarian nodded vigorously. “Sure, sure. Maybe I was a bit hasty. How about seventy-five thousand-“

“We don’t want your money,” said Judy as she walked up.

“Um, Carrots-“

“Well, we do, but not for the reason you think,” she amended. “I only wish we could afford the time to take you with us to face justice.”

“You- you’re not arresting me?” said Satko, his voice weak.

“Not right now,” said Nick. “But we do really need the money. It’s for a thing.”

Wordlessly, the bat pointed to the back seat of the speeder. Nick reached over and pulled out an identical case to the one they had found empty. He tossed it to Judy, who looked up with a relieved smile. “It’s here.”

“Wonderful.” Nick frowned as he looked over the bat, which he still held in his paw. “Now what do we do with you?” he mused. His lightsaber ignited.

“Nick!” cried Judy, appalled at his willingness to kill an unarmed opponent.

The fox’s ears flattened as he looked back at her in sudden worry. “It’s not like that, Judy. I was just going to scare him into finding a better career!”

For a long moment, Judy looked into his eyes, and saw the same fear she could feel rolling off him in oppressive waves. The fear that he would fall. The fear that she would leave him.

“You have to let go of the fear, Nick” she whispered. “It will consume you.”

Nick closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. When he opened them again, he looked and felt calmer. “I’m all right,” he said quietly.

The Toydarian watched the byplay with bemusement. “Um, so to be clear, you’re not going to kill me?”

Nick sighed. “No, but you weren’t supposed to know that.” He looked down at Judy. “So what do we do with him now?”

Judy glanced back at the warehouse, where spice still eddied and swirled in the small whirlwind she had created. “I think it’s high time Satko sampled his own merchandise.”

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nick hailed a taxi speeder as soon as they were clear of the warehouse. They had left Satko, laughing hysterically at nothing anyone could see, amongst the pile of spice crates. Judy looked up from her comm.

“Okay, I just sent an anonymous tip to local law enforcement. Hopefully they’ll arrest Satko and his goons.”

Nick nodded as he got into the speeder with her. “Maybe not, you know. After all, he may well have paid off the local government. We know that at least a few of the higher-ups are crooked.”

Judy looked downcast, fighting a sense of hopelessness at being so powerless to right these wrongs. “I know.” The speeder took off, the droid driving it ignoring them. She watched the jungle city go by.

Farida was the largest city on the main continent of Yuleter, the planet they had found themselves stranded on. The jungle was constantly encroaching on the buildings, which were mostly made from mudrock, a sort of naturally occurring concrete that had a fraction of the strength of ferrocrete, but was far cheaper and still quite strong. It made a good building material, though the brownish coloring of the structures would have become monotonous after a while.

The city was saved from monotony by the profusion of vines, trees, and flowers that filled virtually every empty space. The people of Farida had given up on keeping the jungle out entirely, and instead lived with it in a sort of symbiosis. The speeder slowed to go through an intersection, and Nick reached up to pluck a white flower from an overhanging tree. He put it behind one of Judy’s ears and studied her like an artist would appraise a painting. “Hmmm. Maybe blue would go better.”

Judy rolled her eyes at his antics, but wasn’t entirely able to keep a small smile off her face. “Nick, is there a particular reason you’re taking up bunny decorating as a hobby?”

The fox responded in a completely serious voice. “Well, the council told me that basically all of my old hobbies were ‘evil’ or some nonsense, so I had to do something to pass the time.”

For a long moment, Judy tried to determine whether or not he was joking, before eventually concluding she honestly didn’t want to know. “So where are we going to find a ship, anyway?”

Nick shrugged. “Where do spacers usually hang out?”

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The two Jedi sat down at a booth in the seedy bar they had found near the spaceport. 

Judy looked over the place critically. The patrons all huddled over their drinks, even the ones carrying on hushed conversations with one another. She saw at least one exchange, some credits and something else- presumably illegal- passing between furtive paws. Canned music blasted from speakers set into the ceiling, one of which was hanging from a wire and swaying gently back and forth.

“Yes,” she said, finally. “This definitely looks like a wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

Nick reclined in his seat, paws behind his head. “Isn’t it just?” He smiled. “Reminds me of home.”

“Home?” Judy’s ears perked up. “And where would that-”

A rhino suddenly bumped into the table, spilling Nick’s drink- water, partly because Judy insisted but mostly because he didn’t trust the drinks in this place. Even a Jedi could be drugged and waking up with one less kidney was just not a proposition he wanted to entertain.

“Hey,” said Nick, affronted. “Watch where you’re going!”

“Nick!” said Judy urgently. “What are you doing?”

The rhino turned and looked him up and down. “Or what, little mammal?”

Nick stood up on his seat, so that he was almost at eye level with the rhino. His eyes were empty, and his tone was frosty. “She doesn’t like you,” he said, waving to Judy. 

The rhino rolled his eyes. “Sorry to hear that,” he said sarcastically.

“I don’t like you either,” added Nick. “You better watch yourself. We’re wanted mammals.”

“You what?” said the rhino, surprised. 

Nick pointed at Judy. “She has the death sentence in four systems.”

The rhino looked at Judy skeptically, who covered her face with one paw. “Nick-”

The rhino looked back at Nick, and Nick stared him straight in the eyes. After a long moment, the rhino looked away. “It’s not worth the trouble,” he said in a mumble. “Let me get you something.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Nick, as his tone flipped instantly from icy to genial. He waving a paw negligently in the rhino’s general direction. “Just move along.”

Still casting nervous glances at Nick, the rhino made his way to the bar.

Judy watched all this with surprise. “How- why-”

Nick sat back down, looking suddenly ashamed. “You know what I used to be, Judy,” he said quietly. “Sometimes- sometimes it comes back out. And sometimes certain mammals-” he nodded to the rhino, who was studiously ignoring them “-can see that.”

“But why bother?”

“Because he wanted to show me he was someone to be reckoned with,” said a voice.

The fox and the rabbit looked over- and down. Quite a ways down.

A fennec fox, dressed in a leather jacket and well-worn pants, tapped his feet. “Someone said you were looking for a pilot?”

Nick nodded, eyeing the other fox warily. “That’s right.”

The fox hopped up on the seat next to Judy. She scooted away slightly as he gave her an appreciative look. “Well, you’re looking at the best pilot in a hundred parsecs.”

“Are you sure you don’t mean smallest?” asked Nick.

The fennec grinned at him- well, showed his teeth, anyway. “You may think you’re tough, fox, but I’ve been dodging Republic customs agents since you were a kit. My name is Finnick.”

Judy frowned. Nick saw her disapproval. “Well, that’s just what we need,” said Nick, the words addressed to Judy as much Finnick. “We’d like to avoid any kind of attention when we leave Farida.”

The fox gave them a shrewd look, eyes lingering on the leather satchel Nick carried. “So what’s the deal?” He held up a paw, forestalling Nick. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. As long as you pay me, I’m your mammal.”

“And how much would that be?” asked Judy.

“For avoiding the Trade Federation and the local government?” Finnick let out a low whistle and leaned back against the booth, still standing. He couldn’t very well sit, not without being able to see Nick across the table. He shoved his paws in his pockets and looked thoughtful. “Let’s say- sixty thousand.”

Nick choked on his water. “Sixty thousand?” he gasped. A few mammals nearby gave them suddenly curious glances, and he lowered his voice. “Are you kidding?”

“Do I look like I’m joking, fox?” Finnick hopped onto the table, eye to eye with Nick. “Sixty thousand. Take it or leave it.”

“Fine, we’ll leave it,” said Nick with a low growl in his tone. “So nice almost doing business- or extortion- with you.” 

“Nick,” said Judy in a warning tone.

“You gonna have a hard time finding another pilot, fox,” said Finnick, glancing at the rest of the bar. “Word has it a fox and a bunny ripped off Satko.”

There was a long pause. “Could have been anybody,” said Nick.

“I heard it was for about sixty thousand. And it occurred to me that said fox and bunny might be wanting to get off planet, fast.” Finnick looked over Nick and then Judy. Judy carefully kept her expression neutral. “You don’t look like smugglers. So the only reason for you to steal from Satko and then look for a discreet pilot is because you want off-planet, not the money. So sixty thousand.”

Nick gave the fennec fox a long, measuring gaze. He then looked at Judy. “What do you think?”

“I think we need to get off-planet. And if he’s telling the truth, then he may be the best chance we have.”

Slowly, Nick nodded. “All right, Finnick. You got yourself a deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CodeOne: Okay, so for those who aren't rabid Star Wars fans- may the Force have mercy on your souls (kidding!)
> 
> Seriously, though, the last bit- where Nick starts a fight with a rhino- is an almost word-for-word rendition of the Mos Eisley cantina scene from A New Hope (Episode IV). The joke is that it's our heroes doing the "bullying", rather than a random thug. Thought it might be an amusing turnabout- it may work, may not. It was worth a try anyway.


End file.
